Who Is Your Dr. Right: 12 Tips to Choose the Right Gynecologist

Congratulations on your pregnancy! Or even if have started to think of having a baby. As you gear up for this exciting and decisive period of life, one of your first decisions should be picking the right gynecologist. Every woman and every pregnancy is different. This means that all of us use different criteria for finding a doctor. However, one thing is certain. You need to be absolutely comfortable with your gynecologist, as he or she would be seeing you through your thrilling nine month journey, ending with the delivery of your bundle of joy. So here are 12 tips (in no particular order) that would help you choose your Dr. Right:

12 Tips To Choose The Right Gynecologist

Gender: This is something you need to consider right at the beginning so that you can filter out the male contenders immediately if you are not comfortable with them. A doctor is a professional and the gender of the doctor really should not matter – but this is easy to say and difficult to convince. If you are not comfortable with a male doctor examining you and your private parts, do not choose one – no matter what others recommend

Reference: You cannot visit every doctor in town to pick the right one for you. So you do the next best thing. Ask people! Ask family, friends, colleagues, your partner’s colleagues and neighbors for recommendations. Remember that you might not share your personality with these advisers, so what worked for them might not work for you. However, this step will definitely help you to narrow down your list. Or even create a list, if you have not already done so. You can also look online for feedback – but as usual, take them all with a pinch of salt

Reputation: Look for the doctor’s credentials. Start from the hospitals that the doctor has been with, and do take into consideration the educational degrees. More often than not, it is difficult for laymen to understand any acronym beyond MBBS and MD that follows the doctor’s name. However, once you have shortlisted the doctors, you could use credentials and number of years of experience as a selection criteria

Specialization: Find out if your gynecologist is also an obstetrician (see the end of this article for details). If not, you would need an obstetrician at the time of your delivery. Also depending on your pregnancy, you might want to pick a gynecologist who is specialized in high-risk pregnancies. This option should be explored if you have an underlying medical problem, have had miscarriages before or if you are having multiples. For example, if you have been a patient of blood pressure or epilepsy, you will need to consider whether your doctor has handled patients with such conditions. In this reference, you will need to consider the hospital’s credibility as well

Availability: How easy is to get an appointment with the doctor? What is the waiting period like? Unfortunately, better the doctor is, more busy he/she would be. In most cases, with good advanced planning, you can block the doctor’s calendar for your monthly check-ups. That said, here are few things you need to clarify:

Will the doctor be available on phone or SMS to answer your non-emergency queries?

How long do you need to wait to get a non-routine appointment?

How does he/she deal with emergency calls? How soon will he/she be able to meet or attend you?

Time Spent: This is sometimes the most important criteria, especially for first-time parents-to-be. You need a gynecologist who is not rushing from one appointment to other without pausing. You need someone who is relaxed no matter how many more patients are waiting after you. You need someone patient enough to answer all your questions, no matter how minor it might sound

Personality: Your gynecologist is going to be on your side during some of your most vulnerable moments. His/her bedside manners – literally – do matter. Is the doctor pleasant? Is he/she positive and responsive? Is he/she friendly and approachable? Does he/she make you comfortable?

Team: As important as the doctor’s personality is her team. In most hospitals, it is the doctor’s team who would prep you for a visit. On the delivery day, it is this team who would spend maximum time with you – the doctor would appear only during the final minutes. Get feelers from the nurses and junior doctors around your gynecologist. We are looking for smiles and sensitivity!

Communication: You have to find a doctor who is fluent in a language you are fluent in and someone who listens as much as talks. There will be a lot of questions and concerns, so the language part needs to be great, to say the least

Location: Figure out the logistics. Where does the doctor practice? Is he/she affiliated to a hospital? Does he/she have a clinic? How much would you have to travel to meet her? Does her clinic/hospital have facilities for conducting various tests and investigations? Does it have a pharmacy nearby? Where do you need to go in case of an emergency? Is it far from where you live? How long would the doctor take to get to this location? Tip: nearer the better!

Cost: Another logistics factor. If you are insured, find out if the hospital/clinic is covered in your insurance. If not, find out how much you would be reimbursed. If you are not insured, find out the hospital and doctor consultation fees and see if it fits your budget and family income

Trust your instincts: And this one is the most important one. If you are second guessing your choice, then may it was not the right one, so reconsider. You are getting even remotely negative feelers, reconsider. If you don’t like the doctor, reconsider. If you don’t like the hospital, reconsider. Just because you have seen a gynecologist few times does not mean you are obliged to continue the same one. Make the choice wisely. And if you have made the wrong choice, choose again!

Hey, it is YOUR pregnancy, and hence YOUR choice

And before we conclude, here is the answer to a common confusion among parents-to-be.

Difference Between a Gynecologist and Obstetrician

Technically, obstetricians and gynecologists are two separate specialties. Gynecologists are “doctors” or physicians who have specialized in women’s reproductive care. Obstetricians are the one delivering babies and providing pre-natal care. Now the two fields are largely interwoven and that is why in India, we have about 90% doctors who are a hybrid of the two, nicknamed as “ob-gyns” who would both take care of reproductive health problems while also delivering babies.
Happy pregnancy and safe delivery!

8 Comments

I am looking for a new gynecologist. I like how you mention when finding a gynecologist to trust your instincts on how I feel going to them. I think this is important because feeling comfortable especially during this type of appointment is vital. I will definitely try and trust my instincts. Thanks for the information!

These are some great tips for finding the right gynecologist. My wife has just gotten pregnant with our first baby, and she is worried about this. I think she would be much more comfortable with a female OBGYN, like you said.

I just found out I’m pregnant, and I couldn’t be more thrilled. There is so much to figure out, and I’m getting excited to start. I like what you suggested about finding an OBGYN that has good availability. That is very important to me! I need to know that if I have questions, I can call and talk to the doctor.

I love that you took the time to talk about logistics and location as part of this article. I would imagine that especially when dealing with something like a pregnancy where you never know when or where you will need services it would be really useful to find a place that was well situated and close to home and work. I am sure that taking advice from friends and neighbors about good options in your area would also be helpful.

I agree that a good way to narrow your choices down is to look at the reputation of the OB. This is a good way of knowing their experience and how they treat their patients. My oldest daughter is getting old enough to when she should start seeing on OB doctor. I’ll have to talk to my wife about taking her to who she sees or someone better.

I really like the article’s suggestion about taking location into consideration when choosing a gynecologist. I can see why this would be important, especially considering how convenience can play a big part in the overall decision of choosing an ob doctor. And if you suspect you might need to make frequent visits, it only reinforces the need to pick a location that is ideal for you.

My sister is getting married in April and wants to know how to pick a gynecologist. I was surprised to read in the text that you need someone who is relaxed no matter how many more patients are waiting for you. I would imagine this would be a great piece of information to make sure she gets the right doctor!

My wife just told me she is pregnant and we want to make sure we find a great OBGYN doctor to help us through it. Thank you for talking about the importance of choosing a doctor that has time for you and is easy to reach. It makes sense that taking the time to consult with your insurance company can help you find someone that can not only help you save money but also help you find someone that is easy to contact in case of an emergency.

DISCLAIMER: The material on this website is provided for educational purposes only and is not to be used for medical advice, diagnosis or treatment, or in place of therapy or medical care. Use of this site is subject to our terms of use and privacy policy.